I’m guest blogging with fellow Australian romantic suspense writer (and awesome pilot) Helene Young today – so please do come and visit! There’s a giveaway, a chance to suggest a dish for inclusion in Helene’s next book, some chatting from me about writing and Dungirri, AND there’s chocolate fudge

I had a great time at the Brisbane Writers Festival – although next time I’ll aim to stay longer so that I can enjoy other people’s panels and workshops, too! It was great to catch up with some friends – including romantic suspense writer Sandy Curtis, and of course fellow panelists Christine Wells and Anna Campbell.

Our panel session chaired by Glen Thomas from QUT, was fun and lively, with a great audience with good questions. My workshop yesterday was also enjoyable – it was a great group of writers, again with good questions that led to some lively discussions. I just wished I could have stayed longer, but I had to leave shortly after lunch to get to the airport and my flights home, via Sydney, as there’s no direct Brisbane-Armidale flight.

This morning’s news is that an interview I did some time back with Graeme Blundell from The Australian has been published in the newspaper today – A Popular Misconception. I thoroughly enjoyed doing the interview with Graeme – he was interested, open, and we had a lengthy discussion. He’s such an interesting person himself, that I would have loved to have kept talking with him. (For my overseas readers, Graeme has had a lengthy career in Australian theatre, film and television, and has contributed a great deal to the shaping of Australian culture and perfomance arts.) For someone of Graeme’s standing to be so positive about my books and to present such a balanced article on the genre is wonderful… and I confess I’m still wearing a broad grin, feeling like dancing around, and at the same time moved enough to cry a little.

‘Nuanced and precisely shaped’. Graeme Blundell, The Australian.

Wow.

Thank you, Graeme.

It’s definitely a good day today.

Back in September, I recorded an interview for the Sydney Writers Centre, for their podcast series of author interviews. That interview is now available – so if you’d like to listen to me chat with Valerie Khoo about writing, As Darkness Falls, and genre fiction, hop on over to here. The interview goes for about 23 minutes. I wish I sounded a bit more together and sophisticated, but, oh, well, I’m just me